Dodgers pitcher Brandon League pitches to the Chicago Cubs last August at Dodger Stadium REED SAXON, ASSOCIATED PRESS

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Brandon League has covered his body in tattoos.

His ink might be permanent. But his job? Not so much.

"It's an important role," said League who will head into the 2013 season as the closer for a Dodgers team expected to do great things. "It's not a role or a position where you can wait for a guy to get it back where he was or work things out. You either win the game or lose."

And if you lose too many games, you lose that role. An All-Star in 2011 when he saved 37 games, League lost his job as closer for the Mariners when he struggled early last season. Demoted and eventually traded to the Dodgers, it wasn't until Kenley Jansen was unable to pitch late in the year (due to an irregular heartbeat) that League returned to closing games.

"Relievers are funny," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "There will be a years when they're good, good, good. Then all of a sudden, they'll have a down year. The arm feels dead. You used him too much or they just get out of sync. Then the next thing you know, they kind of show up and the arm rebounds.

"You never know what you're going to see from year to year."

League got back into sync with the help of Dodgers pitching coaches Rick Honeycutt and Ken Howell. In September, he was 6 for 6 in save situations with two wins, one run and eight hits allowed over his final 22 innings in 2012.

"With Brandon, he's got great stuff," Mattingly said. "But he's always been a guy who can be all over the place. He's always on the verge of being wild. You don't know if he's going to throw strikes or not. When he's not throwing strikes, he gets in bad counts and he's going to get hit a little more.

"For me, he's a guy nobody wants to face. He can be an uncomfortable at-bat for anybody."

Such unpredictability can be uncomfortable for more than opposing hitters. The Dodgers gave League a new three-year, $22.5 million contract last fall (which could grow even larger if his successful run continues) and installed him as their closer heading into the much-hyped 2013 season. But he will be surrounded in the bullpen by players who have closed games for the Dodgers in the past – Jansen, Javy Guerra (coming off minor shoulder surgery) and, to a lesser extent, Ronald Belisario. Each represents a seductive alternative for Mattingly if League struggles again.

"All these guys have electric stuff," Mattingly said. "It's nice to know you have those options."

Jansen, in particular, has the power arm – and statistics – that call to managers looking for a dominant closer. The hard-throwing right-hander converted 25 of 32 save opportunities last year before handing the job off to League and has a career rate of 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings (including a record 16.1 in 2011). Jansen had a surgical procedure last fall to address his irregular heartbeat and appears fully recovered.

"Honestly, the way Kenley threw (in 2012), it was like the quarterback in San Francisco – he didn't do anything to lose the job," Mattingly said, referring to the 49ers' decision to switch to Colin Kaepernick when Alex Smith suffered a concussion. "He (Jansen) just had a couple things that kept him away and the other guy came in and lighted it up.

"We do view Kenley as a guy who's going to fit that (ninth-inning) role. But he's still only got 50, 60 innings in (the big leagues)."

Despite League's experience losing the closer's role in Seattle and the options calling to Mattingly in the Dodgers' bullpen, the manager said he does not want League to be looking over his shoulder or worrying that he might be on a short leash.

"Stuff can happen at the end of a game," Mattingly said. "You give up a bleeder, a guy steals a bag and you give up another bleeder – blown save. But it's not like you're getting beat up. It's going to have to be on how it goes.

"I don't think Brandon is the kind of guy who looks over his shoulder. I'm not trying to set that environment. ... It's part of the plan (to have defined bullpen roles). I tell them, 'We'll set the roles.' But at the end of the day, they set their own role by getting guys out."

OPENING DAY

Mattingly confirmed the obvious Saturday, saying he had already talked to left-hander Clayton Kershaw about starting on opening day against the Giants. It will be Kershaw's third consecutive opening-day start, matching Derek Lowe (2005-2007). The left-hander has yet to give up a run in 10 innings over his first two opening-day starts.

"It's a huge honor," Kershaw said. "I'm excited to do it. Any time you get to pitch on Opening Day, it's a huge deal. Then it's just every fifth day after that."

Kershaw is also scheduled to start the Dodgers' first exhibition game on Feb. 23 against the White Sox. Zack Greinke will start the second Cactus League game with Hyun-jin Ryu scheduled to make his spring debut later in that game.

The decision to give Kershaw another opening day start was not a difficult one for Mattingly who said he spoke with Kershaw about it on the second day of camp. More important than opening day, though, is Kershaw's body of work. He was 14-9 last year, led the National League in ERA for the second consecutive season and missed out on a second consecutive Cy Young Award only because of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey's remarkable season.

"You like guys that are low maintenance," Mattingly said of his 24-year-old ace. "Kersh to this point – he's been relatively healthy. He had that thing with his hip last year. But he's been relatively healthy. He's pretty consistent in his outings. You don't get big fluctuations in his outings. You know what to count on, what to expect.

"It is nice."

Kershaw gave up two earned runs or less in 24 of his 33 starts last year. In his career, Kershaw is 8-4 with a 1.37 ERA against the Giants.

RAH RAH

Mattingly addressed the most expensive team in baseball for the first time Saturday morning as the Dodgers assembled for their first full-squad workout. There was no "fire and brimstone" speech, he joked.

"Big expectations – you guys haven't heard?" Mattingly joked.

"It was the same old stuff. We talked about spring training – what we have to do to get ready, what we have to deal with, about our expectations. ... These guys are big boys. They know what they're doing. For me, it's always about doing the work. The way I hear it – it's like we're building a house and starting with the roof. The way I look at it we ought to lay our foundation first. So we'll get our timing, work on bunt plays – things that everybody in baseball is doing in the spring but you have to do it every year."

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